15 Illustrations: Easter Picnic at St. Andrews

Posted on October 18, 2016 by lksukany

I am working with Inktense pencils, Micron ink pens, and Canson Illustration 11×14″ 150lb art pad to create 15 illustrations (that is how many pieces of paper are in the art pad) of my current family life and inspirations.

This work is narrative in content and uses color in a monochromatic way accentuating one part of each drawing. These fun and quirky illustrations are a reflection of the current joy and activities I have been experiencing.

“Easter Picnic at St. Andrews” was something we did back in March that really stuck in my mind. It was a gorgeous day, sunny and warm. St. Andrews Church has an amazing family program and hosted this really fun and laid back picnic and Easter egg hunt the Saturday before Easter. We went to this event and actually brought a picnic lunch – though we realized once there that the “picnic” was more like pick up some food after the egg hunt. We found a table and enjoyed our picnic fully.

I used Inktense pencil Spring Green for the color. This drawing was a bit of a challenge to chose what color and where to put it. I’m not fully convinced I made the right decision on either front, but it’s done now.

Some of my favorite details are the stone and pebble pathway leading to the church, the Easter egg basket and bench,

my make believe patterned skirt, our fun picnic food and flowers, M and E’s portraits,

our family portrait,

and the church windows and architecture.

The inspiration for this drawing:

Mural at Hoover

Posted on October 3, 2016 by lksukany

I created a jazz ensemble mural for Hoover Music Company in Springfield, MO in 2006. When we moved back to Springfield in June, I noticed the mural was looking a little faded. I stopped in and left a note letting them know I was back in town and would be happy to touch up the mural for them. They responded the next day and hired me on.

I worked on it for a couple of hours each day to let the paint dry. I packed an old suitcase with acrylic paint (Winsor & Newton Galleria: Burnt Umber, Yellow Ochre, Mars Black, Cadmium Yellow Medium Hue, and Pale Umber. Golden: Cadmium Red Medium Hue and Burnt Sienna. Liquitex Basics: Raw Sienna. Liquitex: Raw Umber. Grumbacher Academy: Titanium White and Burnt Sienna), Golden Heavy Gel medium, brushes, soap, latex gloves, paper towels, palette knife, apron, hat, slippers, plastic cups, double sided tape, baking pans, palette paper, painters tape, sunscreen, Dr. Bronner’s Soap, wash cloths, and one shot sealer. I also brought a tarp, step ladder, and jug of water.

Day 1: I washed the mural with Dr. Bronner’s soap and water and rinsed with water. I went over all of the figures outlines with a dark gray – almost black. I painted the woman’s dress a bright red straight from the tube, but ran out of paint at the bottom.

Day 2: I covered the red dress again to make the color a bit brighter and richer. I repainted the microphone and stand and the saxophone. I repainted the upright bass using a flat burnt sienna for the bass body.

Day 3: I repainted the guitar and put a second coat of flat burnt sienna on the upright bass.

Day 4: I reworked the dark gray – almost black outline.

Day 5: I created a medium gray and doubled the outline next to the dark gray – almost black outline. I created some shadows and curves to the red dress. I added some shading and highlights to the upright bass.

One of the best things about being a freelance artist is that I never know where I’ll be or what sort of project I will be working on next.

15 Illustrations: Book Babies at Terry Library

Posted on September 29, 2016 by lksukany

“Book Babies at Terry Library” was a direct inspiration from a children’s reading program at the Terry Library in Little Rock, Arkansas called “Book Babies” and was such a fun time for E and I. Book babies is a 30 minute program that meets once a week and involves stories, action rhymes, songs, and a playtime/social time at the end.

I used Inktense pencil Carmine Pink for my monochromatic color, which felt very fun and playful within this composition. I have been going to my favorite art shop – National Art Shop – in Springfield, MO to pick up extra Inktense pencil colors.

Here are the close ups of all of the moms and their kiddos.

Here is E and I!

Some details I liked were the rug pattern and the background books – all of which we have read!

While we were still living in Arkansas, the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) promoted a very fun and challenging program called 1,000 Books Before Kindergarden which we did in six months. For me it was a lot of research in the children’s books publishing world. For E it was just a lot of fun with mama.

The inspiration for this drawing:

Musical Alphabet

Posted on September 19, 2016 by lksukany

I wanted to create a musical alphabet for Elinoah’s playroom and I was pretty happy with what I came up with. I used Staedtler Lumograph Drawing and Sketching Pencils, micron pens, and inktense pencils with a water wash on 6×4″ matboard.

I would like to run these through photoshop/illustrator and maybe pitch them as alphabet flash cards, an alphabet book, or maybe a fun pattern for something else?

Paintings for Livada: Shinkai House

Posted on September 11, 2016 by lksukany

When I was on the missions trip with Grace Church serving the Livada Orphan Care ministry in Romania, the beauty of the country inspired me. I had the idea that when I got home to Arkansas I could paint these Romanian scenes and donate the paintings to Livada to raise money for orphan sponsorship.

Our group went to the Shinkai house and it was amazing! The family who fosters some of the orphans was so welcoming and showed us around – on the outside of the house, there were cats, dogs, rabbits, pigs, and chickens. On the inside there was a wall full of drawings and paintings that the kids had made.